Summary: Elon Musk has significant political influence, especially in supporting Trump and opposing government spending bills. However, his power is not absolute, as there are checks and balances in the U.S. political system that can limit the impact of wealthy individuals. The public’s reaction to Musk’s actions will ultimately determine his influence in American politics.
The U.S. political system was designed by its founders to have a system of checks and balances, so that no individual or institution would have absolute power. (View Highlight)
Powerful people are simply inherently untrustworthy, because the consequences of misplacing your trust in them are so grave. But for most of modern American history, there have been checks and balances on these leaders, meaning that if they did turn out to be bad, there would be plenty of institutions and opponents in place to limit the damage. (View Highlight)